Yes, the Seahawks are Super Bowl champs, but as preparation for the new season begins, it means nothing.
The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl champions after Mike Macdonald took his team to the top of the NFL mountain, but as we know, that counts for nothing as the offseason begins.
We often see what's called a "Super Bowl hangover," where a team that has tasted ultimate glory might not have the desire to work as hard as it did the previous season.
So that is something the Seahawks have to be wary of as OTAs begin and the rest of the offseason follows, but there aren't too many who are genuinely concerned, at least right now.
But one thing that won't be happening from a Seattle standpoint is the rest resting on their laurels over what transpired last season.
Yes, they're Super Bowl champs, and there are still celebrations for it, but as Macdonald states, the team won't be shying away from it, but also won't be using it as a reason not to push as hard.
"We don't avoid it," Macdonald said. "But it's not really the top of mind. There's necessary times to talk about it, like the ring ceremony. But it's not really in our focus right now.
"The way I phrase it to the team is, it's something that could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, hopefully it's more than once in a lifetime for our team. But that's a thing that happened that we can cherish and we should be proud of because of the amount of work that it took and all the things that go into winning a Super Bowl.
"Kind of put it in two different boxes where they don't have to be enemies of one another."
And that's right.
Just because the Seahawks could celebrate their Super Bowl win this offseason doesn't mean that their focus will shift from what's important in 2026.
Now, that is all good and well in theory, but as we know, an offseason and regular season rarely go the way you hope, with plenty of bumps in the road.
So the true test will be how the team responds to setbacks, knowing they've got that Super Bowl ring in their back pocket.
Will they push even harder to try to get that feeling again? Or does a sense of ease come over the group because it's already been there and done it?
I don't get that feeling, as Macdonald's Seahawks have been locked in this offseason so far, and yes, there haven't been any negative moments yet; they'll come, and when they do, we will get to see how this Seattle team will respond.
